It was back to the hill today to find the Blackbuck. Eric and I set off to systematically cover the hill spaced 10 yards apart. We cover the area very methodically. Eric kicked up a fox and made a shot but didn't find any sign. We spent about another hour and found a large glob of blood...fox or Blackbuck? We couldn't be sure and didn't find either. We were dejected. I even tried my GPS to keep from covering ground twice. On this attempt it recorded another 2.3 miles of search on top of the first few hours we spent. Trying not to dwell on the negative and ruin the rest of the hunt we decided to go to Llano to try for a pig this evening.

We made it to Llano around 3:30. Eric set me up in a great shoot shack overlooking a feeder at 55 yards.

About 2 min before the feeder went off a buck came in and then wandered off. The feeder went off and then the deer arrived for the long haul. They were remarkably well behaved as the rut has not yet gotten going. Here is a video of two of the best. Guess what I'm NOT hunting?



Now it was a blast watching the deer, which began with the smallest buck and progressed to the "big boy". Maybe someday Texas will make hunting game animals with an airgun legal.

Now even the "big boy" started getting nervous and looking toward the brush. Next I hear a terrifying sound getting closer and closer. The deer had enough and bolted. Then it came in....



The sow was making a racket as you can hear. I watched for a few minutes waiting for the proper shot. I was using the Barnes Carnivore 58 cal. The gun was sighted in for 50 yards so no adjustment was necessary. I held at the neck base with a slight quartering toward me and right. This was a downward shot. BAG..WHAP...PLOP. It dropped in its tracks with a few spins. As its chest was presented, I placed a second shot which stopped all movement. I'll include one pic of the tusks on this sow here. The remainder of the pics are on the HUNT area of this forum.


Kent

Glad you got a pig. Did you barbecue up some of that? I know you are the smoker master

Thanks for posting. Sounds like you had a well rounded hunt.

Gary

IPhone

Kent,

, way to go!

Lon

Hey Kent,

No answer on the barbeque? I know you like to get behind a grill. Hey - don't tell me Eric didn't have enough spices for you? hehehe.

Note to readers. Kent's kitchen has more rows of spices than your commercial grocery store. And, he knows how to use 'em. I always beg for mercy, and he makes me the old coot's version. Can't even call it the kids version, cause his children are fire breathers. They have to take it easy on me though. Once I ignite, it's hard to put out the flames.

Gary

You should of told me this before Kent was down here. I would have wrangled him into at least one night of cooking. As it was we ate at several local BBQ places(though the two towns nearby each only have a couple of thousand people, there are more Bar B Que restersants between them than you could count on your fingers and toes together) . One, where the lamb ribs and Cabrito sausage were particularly fresh that week, we had to hit twice.

Now Gary you know it takes at least 12 hours on the smoker for my pulled pork or ribs. When am I going to find that kind of time on a gun-ho hunt like this. When we weren't peering from blinds, or calling predators I was belly crawling on cactus! You can't interrupt things like that to cook.. Besides, down here you BBQ beef or lamb or goat but not a pig, that's for breakfast sausage. BTW, this pig went from squealing to spicy patty in less than two days! Seriously, it is hard to cook in a different kitchen, but we did manage western omelets with free range chicken eggs, courtesy of Marty, every morning. I cooked, Marty gathered the eggs.

Kent

Marty! NOW we hear about Marty? You had an egg gathering Ringer in the group?

Hey, you cooked in your trailer. Don't give me that strange kitchen line. Haha bi think you were login the BbQ. Haha. Neat. I love that. Huh. No pigs you say. Not like the south where it's all pig. Who knew? Makes me wonder just what else I don't know. "unknown unknowns".

Gary

Gary, I didn't want to spoil all the experiences for you by telling you what's in store for your trip. Besides, that will allow me to relive some of the places and experiences thru your posts. The unknowns are what make a trip fun.

I'll be interested in seeing how you deal with the lack of internet access at the base camp. My posting in arrears was my best solution. I do wish I could right a "draft" the day of the hunt to down load from the local net hub in town. I just wasn't that internet savvy.

Only one important suggestion for your hunt, don't forget your range finder. I found the strange landscape and exotic animals tough to "range". I was way off on my estimates. I left my range finder at home, oops.

Kent

I want to hear Gary describe his stalk, crawling behind the rock wall.

Lon

Hello Lon,

Planning is much of a hunt like this. Since I saw Kent's post revealing that Eric has a tractor, I have arranged for him to pull me along, on a cable, behind the rock wall. It's this type of advance system's analysis that keeps us at the cutting edge, here at Barnes Pneumatic. (no smart jokes about cactus please). ;?)

Gary

Hi Kent,

That's fine. Leaving fellow explorers totally unprepared for what they might face keeps the competition down ...

Fortunately, I heard from Eric each day of the huht, via his smart phone; or I'd have suspected you'd left the country. ;?) He respected most of your desire to be mysterious. Verifying that the guns were working and an occasional shot was fired.

Yep - got the range finder in my mind's list. Thanks. Taking lots of iron cooking pots. And trade goods for the native populations I might encounter.

Gary

Gary,

You need to build a hunting shirt with casters on the front, that will make the belly crawling a breeze!

WARNING POTENTIAL POOR TASTE JOKE INBOUND


After that last little incident, I think you'll have trouble finding someone in Texas willing to "pull" you behind their motor vehicle, hunting or not!